Thread by @We3forDemocracy

How do healthcare prices and use in the U.S. compare to other countries?

healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collecti…

In the US it costs much more for less.

So when media hypes that less is spent on health care in NZ vs elsewhere - that reflects in part decreased Big Pharma profiteering in NZ.

When you compare health care spending, you have to do it in context

Higher health care spending in the US vs other countries is due to its limited public health care coverage (and profiteering)

Higher health care spending does not mean better outcomes.

commonwealthfund.org/publications/j…

Spending, Use of Services, Prices, and Health in 13 Countries

commonwealthfund.org/publications/i…

The fact a nation spends more per capita on healthcare than other countries is typically due to private profiteering

What is a matter of concern is that Australia and New Zealand are at the top of the charts for cancer rates.

But in NZ methods of collecting statistics on cancer, cardiac and neurological disease, chronic medical conditions, and infectious diseases is IMO very bad.

Take Motor Neurone Disease. I personally know of 4 people who lived on Waiheke who died of motor neourone disease in the past few years.

I asked for the stats on FYI but they don’t reflect this because people who are dying move to hospice care.

healthcentral.nz/new-zealand-de…

This dumping on NZ’s Pharmac agency is unbelievable (and one most query whether Big Pharma has a behind the scenes role).

Unlike most countries with public health care systems, many drugs in NZ are free. Most other countries with public health care - you still pay for all drugs

Where is the money supposed to come from to cover an endless list of potential drug treatments?

Pharmac not only has to be very selective, but because NZ has publicly funded medical misadventure, is there are complications of drugs the publuc pays for it.

Shouldn’t NZ be spending more money on detailed medical data collection so cause of NZ’s extraordinarily high rate of cancer (they should look at pancreatic, not just bowel cancer), motor neurone disease (I’d suggest also looking at pulmonary fibrosis) - in order to reduce rates?

It is not helpful to deem the hospital, hospice or rest home that a person has been in for a relatively short time as their place of residence. It does not help narrow the potential epidemiological factors causing the problem.

There are priorities that have to be made in govt spending. It is not a limitless pot.
It must be remembered that drugs are not publicly funded in most places.
It would have adverse consequences if funding of drugs was stopped in NZ, and we were subject to avaricious Big Pharma

IMO it is reasonable for Pharmac to carefully weigh the costs, and benefits vs the risks of drugs.

The risks include the public having to fund complications attributed to Pharmac covered drugs - a situation that doesn’t exist in other countries that I’m aware of.

I am sympathetic to those who suffer from terminal cancer or any chronic or congenital disease.

But if we don’t acknowledge that money for health care does not fall out of the sky, and priorities must be made, we risk jeopardizing a very good health care system.